A key focus of this blog is the history of Jacksons in Ireland. I am specially curious about those who may be related to Sir Thomas Jackson (1841-1915). His life is key to understanding how a dozen or so young men, sons of Irish tenant farmers, shaped the future of international banking in the Far East in the late 1800s. I also use this blog as a place for playful posts: book and restaurant reviews, recipes, and events in my life. WARNING: Note the date of each post. Some may be outdated.

·Eleanor Mildred
SIDGWICK, wife of Henry SIDGWICK, was an ardent feminist and an
activist for the higher education of women. She and her husband had no
children, and she died February 10, 1936. SOURCE: Probate to Rt. Hon. Gerald
William Earl of Balfour.

Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick

·Henry SIDGWICK was a
philosopher and economist who founded Newnham College in Cambridge in 1875, a
college for women. He and his wife were both active in and founders of the Society for Psychical Research. Many
prominent members of society participated.

·Captain
Charles James Bolton married Julia Eliza Mitchell in 1885. His first wife was Louisa Caroline Dare., a sister of Amelia
Lydia Dare (wife of Sir Thomas Jackson). According to Sir Thomas Jackson’s
daughter Amy Lloyd’s recollections, Louisa had died at sea in 1870, and her son
Charles George Bolton was the only child to survive. Bolton sr. had commanded Jardine Matheson & Co.'s crack
opium schooner, and when steam came, the Glenartney. He also had many other business interests
on the side. Based on his marriage documents in the Jardine
Matheson Archives, it would seem that he had not only a business
relationship, but also a friendship with William Keswick:

An envelope containing a marriage settlement
agreed between Charles James Bolton of Hong Kong, master mariner, commander of
the S.S. 'Reiver'; Louisa Caroline Dare of Singapore, spinster; and William
Keswick and Edward Whittall, whereby, in light of the intended marriage between
Bolton and Dare, Bolton assigns his leases, stocks and shares, and various
other interests to Keswick and Whittall in trust, 22 February 1864. On the back
of the document is an indenture between Bolton and Keswick, whereby Bolton
releases Keswick and Whittall, deceased, from the responsibilities assigned by
the previous indenture and indemnifies them against all claims and demands
arising with regard to that agreement, 5 December 1901.

There
is a mention of Bolton sr's. diary in the following article. It would be a real coup to
find that.

·Charles
George Bolton’s probate: BOLTON Charles George of H.M. ship
"Benbow" lieutenant in the Royal Navy died 28 October 1900 at the
infirmary Greenock Renfrewshire Administration (with Will) London 1 February to
Charles James Bolton esquire Effects £129 17s. Resworn August 1901 £2926 2s. 5d.
At the time of his death, he
was 34 years old, and unmarried. There are no surviving members of this branch
of the DARE family.

THE
following case of an apparition, seen on the first day of what proved to be the
fatal illness of the person represented by it, was recently communicated to
Mrs. Sidgwick by a friend of hers, who was acquainted with the percipient, Mrs.
Bolton, and Mrs. Bolton then kindly sent us an account of her experience. The
first account was written by her husband and signed by herself, and the
corroborative statements of her servants, to whom she mentioned what she had
seen at the time, are embodied in it, as follows:

December
7th, 1912.

Oct.
7, [1900] Sunday. When in church at the afternoon service, when the last hymn
was being sung, I distinctly saw my step-son standing outside the pew looking
in my face. I stopped singing, feeling very upset, and sat down. On looking
again I saw the face again, but looking drawn and white.

On
returning to the house I called the maid who always waited upon him, and I
said, "Sarah, I feel Master Charles is ill; he will die," and I burst
into tears. The maid said, "I think, madam, you cannot be well."

(This
statement as to what my mistress said to me is quite correct.

SARAH
WHYBROW.)

I
also spoke to E. Webb, the cook, and said, "I saw Master Charles in
church, and I saw his coffin by the chancel steps."

(This
statement is quite correct.

ELIZABETH
WEBB.)

On
this day Charles wrote his last letter to me.

Oct.
13. My husband heard from Charles that he was on the sick list, and this day he
was moved from the "Benbow" to hospital.

Oct.
17. Much against my wish, we went to Boscombe.

Oct.
19. My husband went up to Greenock.

Oct.
24. Decided to go myself to Greenock, notwithstanding my husband's telegram
that "there was a decided improvement," and telegraphing me not to
come up.

Oct.
25. Doctor said there was no hope, but when [Charles] saw me his face
brightened, and taking me by the hand he said, "Oh, mother, mother."

Oct.
30. On this night I felt a strong pressure on my left arm, and I put out my
hand, thinking someone was there, but I felt nothing ; but I said, "
Charles, are you here?" No answer came, but I felt a further strong
pressure.

Oct.
30. On this day he was brought home and placed in the church.

All
the dates in this statement are correct, and agree with memo.'s made in
[Captain Bolton's] diary of 1900.

(Signed)
C. J. BOLTON. Dec. 7th, 1912.

This
is a true statement written by my husband for me.

JULIA
E. BOLTON.

Mrs.
Sidgwick went to see Captain and Mrs. Bolton on December 7th, 1912, and gives
the following account of her interview:

I
saw Captain and Mrs. Bolton at their residence, Booking Hall, Braintree,
yesterday. I heard from Mrs. Bolton about her experience, and received from
them the account written out by Captain Bolton for his wife and signed by her.
She also read me an account written by herself, which she has promised to copy
and send me. It contains important points which she also told me in conversation,
namely, that the letter written on the Sunday stated that her step-son,
Lieutenant Bolton, K.N., had a cold, and that on account of the alarm caused by
her vision she telegraphed on the Monday to ask how he was, and received a
telegram in reply stating that he had slight influenza. The letter and
telegrams have been destroyed. This was the beginning of the illness of which
he died. Pneumonia supervened on the influenza, and then the heart failed.

I
saw both the servants who signed statements in the account. It will be noticed
that one speaks of a coffin at the chancel steps. Mrs. Bolton confirms this,
but my impression is that, if she really saw it at the same time as the figure,
it must have been much less vivid. I gathered that it was the apparition and
the drawn expression of the face when she looked up and saw it again that alarmed
her. The coffin actually stood in the church at the chancel steps during the
night before it was buried in the churchyard of a neighbouring parish. The
house, it may be observed, is quite close to the church.

ELEANOR
MILDRED SIDGWICK.

In
reply to a request from Mrs. Sidgwick that Captain Bolton would write his own
recollection of what Mrs. Bolton had told him at the time, he wrote to her:

BOOKING
HALL, BRAINTREE,

ESSEX,
Dec. 10th, 1912.

In
answer to your enquiries, I have no recollection of my wife saying anything to
me regarding seeing the apparition in church, and I think this can be accounted
for. Mr. ____, who was in our pew that afternoon, came in to the house with us
to have tea, and remained all the afternoon, and of course she would not say
anything before him, and, again, she might have thought I should consider her
fanciful and foolish. . . .

I
have a distinct remembrance of my wife's distress at that time, and her great
anxiety, and that I postponed our visit to Boscombe for a week at her
persistent request, although we had the house taken.

You
must remember all this took place twelve years ago, and at 84 (my age) memory
is not quite at its best.

C.
J. BOLTON.

Mrs.
Bolton afterwards wrote a more detailed account from which we- extract the
following:

BOOKING
HALL, BRAINTREE,

ESSEX,
Dec. 13th, 1912.

On
October 7th, 1900, on Sunday afternoon, I was sitting in the Bocking Hall pew,
and during the last hymn I looked up and my step-son, Lieutenant Bolton,
appeared to be standing in front of me, and looking earnestly into my face. I
stopped singing and sat down feeling very upset. I looked again and saw his
expression had changed and he looked drawn and white. After leaving the church I
came into the house and went into the housemaid's room and called my housemaid,
Sarah Whybrow (who always waited upon him), and said, "Sarah, Master
Charlie is ill. I have seen him and he is going to die." The maid
answered, "I think, madam, you are ill." I felt so distressed I burst
into uncontrollable tears.

On
the next morning by the second post, Oct. 8th, I received a letter from my
step-son saying "he had a slight attack of influenza." (It was the
last letter he wrote to me.)

On
the same day, Oct. 8th, I telegraphed to him to know how he was. The reply was,
"slight influenza."

We
had previously taken a house in Boscombe for the following Wednesday, 10th, but
with difficulty I persuaded my husband to wait a few days here, feeling my son
would want me. From the 8th telegrams between my son and me passed, but always
he was "getting on." We heard of nothing serious till Saturday, 13th,
when we received a telegram to say "Lieut. Bolton has been moved from the
'Benbow' to the hospital in Greenock."

The
rest of the account describes the course of the illness, which terminated
fatally on Sunday, October 28th, 1900.

About Me

Author And Researcher. I am currently writing a book on the life of Sir Thomas Jackson. He was the son of tenant farmers, born just before the Famine in South Armagh, who was knighted because he not only lead HSBC into the 20th Century, but was also responsible for assisting with the funding of much of the economic development in China & Japan in the late 1800s. My first published book was "Some Become Flowers: Living with Dying at Home".